After two weeks, Ron was over the encounter with Malfoy. He and Hermione were back to normal. Hermione never brought it up and neither did anyone else.

Hermione had been working on aparating with Ron, but had stopped after she accidentally splinched herself. She had lost a fingernail and all of her hair. (She had re-grown it)

Besides, she was still more comfortable with muggle transportation.

So, Hermione walked to the Potter's house at six o'clock on Friday night. She knocked twice and Harry answered it.

"Thank goodness...Ginny, she's here!" Called Harry behind his shoulder.

"Come on in, Hermione." He let her in right as Ginny came thundering down the stairs. "Hermione!" She yelled. "Thank you so much for coming! Im sorry it's last-minute, but we've got this extremely important ministry meeting, an-" Harry cut her off. "No time! We've got to go, Ginny!" He thanked Hermione again for babysitting James, and then the two aparated right out the door.

Little James Potter was sitting at the kitchen table in his high chair.

Hermione walked over and picked him up. "Hi, little James!" She said in a silly sing-song voice. Hermione pulled a squealing James out of his high chair. She rested him on her hip and she read a note on the counter.

Hermione-

Thanks for coming on such short notice. We might be out a while. Put James down for bed at about 7:00. Thank you again!

-Ginny

Hermione glanced at the clock on the wall. 6:45. "Wow, I must've been later than I thought..." She grumbled. She put James on the floor and entertained him for a while with his toys and gadgets. Hermione grinned as she watched him play. He reminded her of her family. Her Hogwarts family, that is.

Little James was like a mix of all the Potters and Weasleys.

He was mischievous, like the Weasley twins and brown eyed like his mum. His hair had a slight reddish tint to it, as well. He had the Weasley freckles sprinkled across his nose. Just like his uncle Ron. And he was brave and bold like his dad.

Hermione let James entertain himself with his plethora of toys until she looked down to where he sat. He was fast asleep.

Hermione took James upstairs and put him in his crib.

She walked around upstairs, listening for James, in case he woke up.

There was an open door at the end of the hall. Hermione knew she shouldn't go looking at other people's personal things, but it was open...

She walked into the room. It seemed to be a storage room, or, at least, a room full of unused clutter. Ignoring her better judgment, Hermione walked into the room, staring at all of the random dusty objects.

Then, one item in particular caught her eye.

She recognized it from books...but she had never actually seen one. Or been inside one.

It was a pensive.

Hermione bit her lip. She knew this was a bad idea...but it was so tempting...it would only be for a few minutes, after all.

She leaned forward, her face nearly brushing the surface.

And then she was zooming through darkness.

Hermione landed in the living room of the burrow. The entire Weasley family, and Harry, sat there in silence. Ron's face was tear-streaked and red. Harry looked depressed and saddened, as did everyone else. They had lost so much.

"First Fred...now this." Said Ron. Hermione felt her heart sink in sadness. This was the day she had left the burrow.

Everyone sat in silence, pondering Ron's words.

It was true, Hermione had become part of the family. Just like Harry had.

Harry got up and left the room, Hermione followed, after all it was his memory.

Harry walked outside, gazing up at the star filled sky. He was crying.

Hermione felt years well up in her eyes. She had been so selfish...and weak...and scared...

Soon, Hermione was crying, too.

Then Ron came outside.

Hermione could see the tears in his eyes, as well as Harry's.

"I miss her so much, mate," said Ron, his voice cracking. "If this is how she felt when I...you know, walked out on the Hallows hunt, then I'm sorry that she felt this"

Harry nodded. He couldn't say anything.

Ron spoke again.

"And we had just gotten together,

I mean, we kissed in the Chamber of Secrets, mate. I love her." Ron said.

Harry found his voice.

"I love her, too. I love her, like a sister. I just never realized how much I needed her, or how much I cared about her. And now..." Harry stopped, his voice faltering.

Ron finished his sentence for him "She's gone."

And with that, the two boys sat watching the stars, listening to the quiet chirping of the crickets.

Hermione resurfaced. She was back in the room of cluttered items. She was still crying.

She wiped her eyes and left the room quickly.

On top of the shame she felt for leaving her friends, she now felt ashamed for butting into Harry's personal business. It wasn't like her at all.

Hermione sat downstairs on the couch trying to calm herself down until the Potters got home.

Ron was sitting in his backyard, watching the night sky.

It was clear and beautiful, like a huge dotted blanket stretched for miles and miles.

There was always that one star...the one that shined far brighter that any other he could see.

(Ron's Flashback)

It had been months. Three exactly. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been searching for Hallows for three months.

Snow carpeted the ground. It was positively freezing. Frigid. Cold enough to freeze them in their sleep. It probably would, if they didn't have magic.

At least he still had her. Hermione. She was his one hope. Whenever he was angry or sad...he just looked into her deep, brown eyes...and everything was better.

This one night in particular, happened to be a clear one. And from out in the forest...away from cities and bright lights, Ron could see more stars that he had anywhere else.

Ron stood a bit away from the tent, staring up at the twinkling sky.

After a few minutes, Hermione joined him. She rested her head on his shoulder, watching the sky in silence along side him.

There it was. That one star that stood out. Bright and twinkling.

He knew Hermione saw it, too.

(Flashback ends)

A/N: Thank you so much for the reads and reviews! I really appreciate every read I get! So, I just wanted to at that I will occasionally have flashbacks from other characters points of view. Not just Hermione.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions,

comments or questions! I am thankful for each and every one!

-Piper